Multidisciplinary Partnering

The Research Development staff work with the campus to enhance performance and expand opportunities in UCSB’s research environment. Because multidisciplinary initiatives offer special opportunities to apply novel approaches to traditional problems, we provide many services to help faculty develop large-scale proposals and programs. Our assistance includes consulting with investigators throughout proposal development, and facilitating the University’s selection process for external awards and grants that allow a limited number of nominations. We also conduct or co-sponsor skill-development workshops for faculty, professional researchers, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students.

Partnering Services:

Facilitate preliminary meetings

We’ll help identify and set up meetings with potential collaborators and handle all the logistics, including scheduling participants and meeting rooms. To help frame initial discussions, the Research Development team can also provide materials such as handouts and multimedia presentations covering specific opportunities and topics.

Identify potential collaborators

We explore strategies for forming research teams across traditional disciplinary boundaries and institutions as well as the ways such teams may locate project funding and develop written proposals. The Research Development staff helps identify researchers whose expertise and interests are likely to help an individual pursue problems on a scale requiring numerous investigators’ participation.

The University recognizes that multidisciplinary initiatives offer unique opportunities to use novel approaches to traditional problems. With this in mind, and as part of the University of California’s public-service mission, our faculty consultations often include information from our discussions with community, local, and state agencies.

Assess project fit with opportunity

By carefully reviewing your proposal in terms of the agency’s criteria, we will explore ways to ensure that your submission suits the agency’s mission and that your objectives match the sponsor’s. (This “match” must be explicit in each written application.)

Communicate with sponsors

We’ll help locate agency contacts for you—individuals who are key to building interest in a project with potential sponsors and who may ultimately influence funding decisions. While it is critical that principal investigators develop personal rapport with potential funders, we often confer with the program officers and grants-management staff about specific questions as projects develop. In addition, Research Development sponsors campus visits by agency program officers to explore opportunities for funding and collaboration, and as a way of providing a venue in which investigators can develop or renew working relationships with specific funders.

Review proposal drafts

To help ensure that multidisciplinary proposals are well-focused, well-written, and competitive, the Research Development staff critique drafts for substance, effectiveness, form, clarity, and stylistic consistency. Each section of the proposal (e.g., methods, evaluation, and budget) is considered in detail for consistency with agency guidelines.

Provide successful proposal models

To provide examples of effective proposal development, and with the permission of the principal investigators, we will provide copies of funded proposals. When a funding opportunity is recurring, these proposals will be specific to the program to which the multidisciplinary team will apply. In the case of new opportunities for which successful models do not yet exist, we provide funded proposals whose characteristics most closely match the particular opportunity or project.

Help build inter-institutional partnerships

UCSB is part of a university system that has 10 campuses and manages three Department of Energy laboratories; thus, Research Development staff will assist you in locating potential collaborators at any of the other UC institutions. We maintain close ties with our systemwide counterparts and frequently consult about specific opportunities that may particularly lend themselves to interinstitutional collaborations. In addition, the UC Office of the President also supports a variety of funding programs that encourage cross-UC interactions. We can also be instrumental in identifying collaborators from other universities for projects of mutual interest.